From print to plush: inside the $25 million renovation of an Adelaide landmark

North Terrace in the CBD is flanked by stately, important buildings, like the Art Gallery of South Australia, the University of Adelaide and even Parliament House. It's lovely to take a stroll along, which we do at night-time. Directly across the road from the Playford is the Adelaide Convention Centre and the central railway station; the River Torrens and its surrounding parklands are just a block away, and just over the river is the Adelaide Oval.

The sinuous lines and nature-inspired motifs of art nouveau are the Playford's calling card. You can see its influence all around you, from patterns on carpet, wallpaper, cornices and wall panels, to elaborate ironwork swirls in balustrades and around pillars at the hotel's entrance, situated down a side street. The furnishings are a spot-the-right-angle celebration of the rounded, plump and curvy, from the classy chaise longue in your room to the dining booths in the restaurant.

I'm staying in a New York-style loft suite which has a downstairs living area, including a mini bar featuring South Australian-made snacks and drinks, and a bathroom with a twin rain shower. It's a bit of a trek from the bedroom which is on a mezzanine at the top of a staircase embellished with ironwork vine leaves. A chandelier like a cluster of jellyfish hangs from the ceiling which soars two storeys high. This is not your regular hotel room, and it's one of eight styles across the Playford's 182 rooms, from the 26sqm Classic room to the 76sqm North Terrace loft suite.

We dine on the chef-selected tasting menu at Luma Restaurant, where the cuisine is European-inspired but features local ingredients. Highlights include Coffin Bay oysters with wakame, delicate South Australian blue swimmer crab tortellini and a bombe Alaska dessert which is set alight at the table. "It was created a few years ago when the second floor of the Playford almost burnt down," our waiter reveals. Breakfast is a full buffet, and there are high teas on weekend afternoons.

The hotel's 24-hour leisure centre has an indoor heated pool, spa and sauna, and a gym which is currently being renovated. And the Luma Bar and Restaurant is a destination in its own right. But with the hotel's CBD location, and South Australia's wine regions just beyond (we beelined for historic Seppeltsfield in the Barossa, less than an hour's drive away), your attention will be happily pulled elsewhere.

Pull up a stool at Luma Bar (it won a prestigious international award for best bar design in 2023) and let the retro, golden-hued glamour envelop you.

The writer was a guest of the hotel